Age Crime Curve Patterns
It is well established that age has a strong correlation with criminal activity. According to Hirschi & Gottfredson (1983) “age has a direct effect on crime”. A vast number of studies and statistical data have demonstrated that criminal activity and anti-social behavior reach a peak during adolescence, at the age of seventeen, and declines drastically as the adolescent transitions into adulthood (Sweeten et al., 2013). The patterns of criminal activity in relation to age (age-crime curves) shows that crime increases to a peak in the teenage years and decreases as an individual grows older. Historical evidence together with evidence across ethnicities and countries of origin has revealed such a pattern with regard to age and crime. As teenage transitions into adulthood, the crime rate decreases at first quickly then gradually. A number of studies have shown that crime is prevalent in the adolescent years than during the adult years hence leading to the age-crime curve that peaks at the teenage years (Sweeten et al., 2013).
In attempting to explain the relationship between age and crime, Hirschi & Gottfredson (1983) came up with the invariance hypothesis which stated that the age-crime curve is invariant across history, cultures and even ethnicities. The also used the non-interactive hypothesis to explain the age- crime curve which simply states that crime correlates do not show any variation with age. Lastly, they referred to the inexplicability hypothesis that asserts crime age distributions cannot be accounted for by any variables in criminology. This hypothesis has been subject to criticism over the years and variable such as peer relations have been found to relate to crime. Farrington (1986) in his study found out that the age-crime curves only have one peak (unimodal); only peak at the teenage years and hence supporting the age-crime curve.
Components of the Criminal Career
Participation is the first component of a criminal career. It relates to the distinction between the people who engage in criminal behaviors and the people that desist from such behaviors. Participation distinguishes the offenders and the non-offenders Blumstein & Cohen (1987). Research reveals that juveniles engage in crime more than adults. The second component of the criminal career is frequency, normally represented by the Greek letter lambda. Frequency relates to the criminal activity rate for a person that actively commits offences. Blumstein & Cohen (1987) indicated that frequency is measured by the number of criminal offences that have been committed by an offender during a specific period of time, often a year. Frequency is normally regarded to as the most important component of criminal careers as offender frequencies varies greatly. Early ages (teens) have shown higher frequencies than the older ages.
The third component of a criminal career is seriousness. Seriousness relates to the severity of the offences committed. Seriousness relates to the severity of the criminal activities as well as the sequence patterns between criminal activities Blumstein & Cohen (1987). In simple terms, seriousness refers to whether an individual’s criminal activities de-escalate or escalate in severity, mixed or show no pattern at all. Also, in this component, there is the concern about the type of crime and the specialization of the crime. Most offenders often reveal a tendency to commit a variety of crimes rather than specialize. Adult offenders tend to specialize their crimes more than juveniles. The final component of a criminal career is length of the career. It simply relates to how long a person is actively engaging in criminal activitie. It is measured between the age a person first engages in crime and the time he or she desists. The length of criminal careers varies greatly. Chronic offenders often reveal longer career lengths than one time offenders. Most criminal offences begin during teenage years and end during the teen years.
Application of the Development Perspectives
Research studies by Blumstein & Cohen (1986) and later Piquero & DeLisi (2011) have generated important conclusions about age-crime curve patterns and criminal careers. According to the researchers, ages between eight and fourteen are usually the ages that reveal an onset of engagement in criminal behavior and the age by which they begin to desist from such crimes is usually between twenty and twenty nine years. It has also been found out that criminal offence normally show a high prevalence between the ages fifteen and nineteen. Another key development perspective is that the engagement in criminal activities from an early age often predicts the criminal career length of a person and the frequency of the criminal activities committed. It has also been found out that the frequency of offences committed or anti-social behavior portrayed during a certain age range will increase the probability that such a person will commit such offences or portray similar behavior in future.
Recent trends have also revealed that chronic offenders, who also commit a huge number of crimes, are often exposed to crime from an early age and hence the frequency of their offences and a lengthy criminal career. Also, it has been found that most criminal offenders tend to be more generalized rather than specialize in particular crimes. Criminal offenders will show a high frequency in committing different forms of crime Farrington (1986). Another key development perspective is the fact that criminal offences are usually elements of anti-social behaviors that may include drug abuse, promiscuity and reckless driving among others. It has also been observed that during the teenage years crimes are often committed as a group but individually during the adult years. Explanations given for crimes at an early age include curiosity, boredom, excitement and utilitarian one and yet in the adult years it is primarily utilitarian purposes. Lastly, it has been observed that different offences are committed at earlier on stages before progression such as shoplifting before burglary and robbery. These finding have since informed the study of criminal careers and the age-crime curve.
References
Blumstein, A. & Cohen, J. (1987). Charaxterizing Criminal Careers. Science, New Series, Vol. 237, 985-991. American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Farrington (1986). Age and Crime. Crime and Justice, Vol.7. 189-250. University of Chicago Press
Hirchi, T & Gottfredston (1983). Age and the Explanation of Crime. American Journal of Sociology, Vol 89 552-584.
Sweeten, G., Piquero, R, A & Steinberg, L (2013). Age and the Explanation of Crime, Revisited. J Youth Adolescence. 42-921-938.
Piquero (2011). Invited Address: James Joyce, Alice in Wonderland, the RollingStones, and Criminal Careers. J Youth Adolescence 40:761–775
